My Best Friend
by AmantesPatriae
Summary: Erza and Gray have been friends for as long as they can remember, and over the years Gray realizes that he loves her. It's the only secret he keeps from her, and now that Jellal is in the picture, Gray is terrified that one day he won't be her best friend anymore. Will she finally see what's been right in front of her this whole time? Is it too late for Gray to tell her the truth?
1. Just A Dream

**A/N: This is a modern AU, and will feature Grayza, Jerza, and Nalu, mainly.**

 **Chapter 1: Just a dream**

* * *

 _It began when we were little. She was all alone, nobody dared to approach her before I did. Every time I tried to talk to her, she would push me away, tell me to leave her alone. And I probably should have. It lead to many wounds on my part, but something inside me wanted to continue, to pry further. Years passed until I finally got to talk to her without having to defend my habit of stripping and how I'm not a pervert. That was when she started to take me seriously. It was when I saw her crying, alone. I saw all of the pain hidden behind her eyes, all of the tears that she held in when others were around._

 ** _She was Erza Scarlet._**

* * *

The sun was bursting orange and the sky held a lavender tint to it. There wasn't a cloud to be seen and the cool breeze made it a beautiful evening. Gray ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to make himself presentable for when his friend got there. It had already been 5 minutes since she was supposed to be there, what was taking so long? It wasn't like Erza to be late to anything. He checked his phone and found a message from the girl he was waiting for.

 ** _(1) New Message - Erza_**

He opened it up, hoping that she said she was on her way, but found the complete opposite.

 _ **Erza: Sorry Gray, I'm going to have to miss our dinner together. Jellal asked me to go somewhere with him at the last minute. Maybe next weekend? Don't forget to come by my apartment at 9, we need to study for the midterms. Sorry again, forgive me? :)**_

 _ **6:37 p.m.**_

Reading this made the onyx haired man upset. _Jellal? I completely forgot that Erza was dating him. Well, it's been over a month, so more like I try to forget it. I don't really trust that guy. But I should be happy for her. She is my best friend after all, I should show some more support for her decisions. It's not like it really matters to me anyways, right? Besides, I'll get to see her later._

Gray quickly typed back "It's cool, see you later " before heading off to his house.

He could afford a decent one bedroom house even though he was going to school at Fairyworth University, an institute that was well known for its student prodigies. Most of his friends had a dorm on campus. He was able to get into the school because of his exceptional abilities at speed skating, winning the national competition two years in a row.

Before making it to his residence, Gray got a message from Natsu to meet him at the local café. Sighing, he turned back around and made his way to the Magnolia coffee shop.

Walking through the glass door, Gray was hit by a wave of aroma that smelled of freshly brewed coffee beans. The lighting in the small shop was dim, and the soft yellow lights casted a warm glow over the rounded tables that ran along the walls. Slow, soothing music encompassed the room and left a calming effect that could put you to sleep if you let it. The café was well-known for its ability to relax its customers and its signature blend of Fiore roast that continued to bring people back.

Gray saw his friend sitting at a table alone, sipping away at a steaming mug of cappuccino. He sat down in the wooden chair that stood across from the salmon haired man after ordering himself a cup of the famous coffee.

"What's up Natsu, I thought you knew I had plans with Erza," Gray impatiently asked his friend, wanting to know the reason why he wanted to talk to him in private all of a sudden.

"Plans? Well you're here now, and she obviously dumped you for Jell-"

"Shut up about that!" Gray's fist hit the table hard enough to draw attention from everyone in the shop. He calmed down when he realized his outburst and avoided any eye contact from the watchers.

"Did I trigger something? You know Jellal and Erza have been dating for over a month now, you're going to have to get used to-"

Gray cringed at those words. He wanted to change the subject. In fact, he just didn't want to talk about about those two at all. Especially not Jellal. "Natsu, if you brought me here to rub that in my face, then I'm leaving." He started to pick up his jacket when his friend grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back to his seat.

Natsu was purposefully pulling his chain to see how he would react. "Look Gray, first of all, you need to stop cutting me off when I'm talking. Second of all, that's not exactly what I wanted you here for. It does have to do with your best friend though." Natsu paused to see if his friend would still listen to him, then continued, "You need to tell me, do you still love Erza?"

Gray tried with all of his might to look indifferent to his question, but a faint reddening of his cheeks and his hesitation completely gave him away. Nonetheless, he answered bluntly, "What is it to you? And no, we're just friends."

"Really? Because you seem jealous of Jellal to me. You're already her best friend, so what other reason would you have to be jealous of him? And it's kinda my business because you were telling me how you felt about her the week before she started to date him."

Gray was surprised. Was it that obvious? It was okay if Natsu knew about that, but he certainly didn't want anyone else finding out. "Look, I really don't want to talk about this right now, ok? Can we just drop it?" Gray checked his watch and began to pick up his jacket again. "I gotta go, Erza will be mad if I get to her house late. See you later."

Natsu sat back in his chair and folded his arms, a smirk on his face. He knew his raven haired friend all too well. His face and the way he talked gave everything away, he had all the answers to his questions. The happy-go-lucky guy was surprisingly not as dense as he was made out to be. He actually knew a lot about the concept of love, however he had never been in it. Yet.

* * *

Erza stared into his golden-brown eyes, completely captivated by them. She couldn't think about anything else but there and now. Their faces were merely inches apart, her breath felt caught up in her throat, and she felt as though she could hear her heart pounding. The feeling was paradoxical; she wanted so badly to lean in and kiss him, yet at the same time she was afraid to.

The bluenette made the first move. He came in, closing the distance between their faces, coming closer, and closer, and closer. The scarlet girl couldn't take it anymore, and she reacted on instinct. She pulled out of his embrace and darted her head to the ground, blushing in the process. Erza stuttered as she tried to form words to explain her actions, "I-I, uh, s-sorry".

Jellal was surprised by what she did, but he remained calm and simply grabbed her hand and held it gently. He smiled at her, but it was pointless since her head stayed fixed towards the ground. He wanted to say something, but what? When he was finally able to come up with something to say to her, she got up and quickly began to leave. "Erza, I-" his voice trailed off as he realized that is was hopeless to continue to speak. He decided against chasing her down, feeling that it would only make matters worse, or at least more awkward.

 _Damn. Our first real date and I went and blew it. I shouldn't have made a move on her like that. It felt like it was the right time to do something like that, but I guess not. It's my fault that she left, and I have to fix things with her tomorrow._ Jellal got up, grabbed his coat, and headed out of the restaurant. He still had to pay for the dinner, which he never got to since Erza left. Besides, he had completely lost his appetite after what happened.

* * *

Erza hadn't known what to do in that moment. She could only abruptly excuse herself, and as she rushed out the door she swore she could feel the eyes of other people burning into her back. _What is going on? I've never felt like this in so long. It all feels new to me. Regardless, I can't let anyone see me look so awkward and nervous like that, it just feels weird... Do I regret it? I guess I was scared because I have never been in a situation like that before._

The redhead glanced at her phone as she was pacing through the city, trying to clear her head. _Oh, crap! It's already half past 9! Late again with my plans with Gray! I won't hear the end of how tardy I was for at least a week from him._ Erza quickly made it back to her apartment in the Fairy Hills complex, an off-campus apartment complex owned by the school.

Erza opened the already unlocked door to her apartment to find a shirtless, sleeping Gray on her couch. She smiled at the sight of her best friend's habit. _He was probably waiting here for a while and ended up falling asleep._ _I'll sort out what happened with Jellal later, I have to take care of Gray, I owe it to him._ She could hear Gray's stomach growling even though he was unconscious. _And he probably hasn't even eaten dinner because I cancelled it with him earlier. Man, I am a horrible best friend!_

Feeling guilty, Erza decided that to make it up to him. She would make dinner and they could eat here. The scarlet haired student hastily looked for an easy recipe online, wanting to make something fast as it was already becoming late. Having the necessary ingredients, she was able to throw together a simple pasta dish with some vegetables she had on hand. It took about 20 minutes to make, and considering this was her first time in a long time to cook something, she had to admit she was proud of her work.

Gray had woken up smelling some kind of food, but he wasn't sure why. He clumsily walked in the direction of the scent, his hunger now greater than before he fell asleep. Making it to the kitchen, he saw Erza putting some kind of food into two bowls. _How long has she been here? And she actually cooked food?_ Gray had to hand it to her, she swore she'd never cook ever again after that incident involving very burnt pancakes and pink frogs years ago.

Sensing someone nearby, Erza whipped around to see her friend, still half-asleep. She greeted him with a smile and invited him to sit down. The two of them shared jokes and talked about how they weren't going to have any time to study. They decided that after their dinner, they would play some games and have fun together, like when they were kids.

Erza always beat Gray in the first-person shooter games, although the black haired boy played them much more often. Before they knew it, it was already midnight. Erza insisted that he stay overnight, and just about anything she said went.

The two stayed up late to do at least some studying before the midterm exams that were later that week. They tried review games, practice quizzes, flashcards, anything they could think of to prepare for the test.

Gray hoped that spending this time with Erza would make him forget about the fact that she was in a relationship with Jellal. But it was something that was on his mind the entire time. He never once brought up the topic of why she cancelled their plans for dinner, but now he had a sudden urge to want to know. He couldn't stand the curiosity any longer, so he decided to ask her. However, she looked up from her textbook and spoke before he worked up enough nerve to ask her.

"Gray,"

He looked towards the direction of her voice with slightly confused look on his face. "Hm? What's up Erza?"

"Kiss me." the scarlet haired girl stated as if it was a normal thing for best friends.

Gray's eyes widened in surprise, he could feel his heart beating faster. _Did she really just say what I think she said?_

"W-what? Why are you asking me that?" He couldn't believe those two words that came out of her mouth. In his confusion, he didn't even realize that Erza was now sitting right next to him.

"Oh, c'mon, Gray," Erza softly whispered as she leaned in towards him, holding his face in one hand, bringing him closer to her. Their lips barely grazed each other when he could feel himself being shaken.

"Gray! Gray, wake up! You're kissing the wall!" Gray's eyes shot open to see his face less than inches away from the wall. He quickly pulled away, recognizing that what happened was just in a dream. He kept his head down, trying to hide the fact that he was completely embarrassed.

"So what was that all about, lover boy?" Erza teased, slightly amused by what she saw.

"It was just some stupid dream… Don't tell anyone what you saw, it would be the death of me. This stays between me, you, and the wall." Gray laughed off the incident, and highlighted that he seriously didn't want anyone to know.

"I promise I won't tell anyone. You're obviously getting tired, we should go to bed now, it's about 1:30 in the morning. And we gotta wake up early to get to that new cake shop a couple of blocks down, they have a special deal on their strawberry cake from 6:00-7:00." Erza's eyes seemingly sparkled at the thought of having her favorite cake in the morning, and Gray could have sworn he saw her drooling.

Gray sighed as he went to the couch, he decided that he would sleep here for the night. Or at least what was left of it. There was a lot of junk that Erza kept there. She offered him to sleep in her bed, but he declined, saying it wouldn't be right. A truth in more ways than one.

After Erza had went to bed, Gray was having trouble falling asleep on the couch. It wasn't because it was uncomfortable, but because he was still thinking about Erza. He wanted so badly to tell her how he felt. This was the only secret he had ever kept from her, they were best friends after all and they could talk to each other about anything. But what stopped him today, and any other time, was because he was afraid. Afraid of not being her best friend anymore. Afraid of not having days like today, where they could have so much fun, just the two of them. Afraid that if he told her, things would get awkward, and that they're relationship could never get back to the way it had been.

Erza wasn't exactly able to drift asleep very fast like normal either. However, she was thinking about Jellal. She wanted to kiss him so badly earlier. But she too, like Gray, was afraid. Afraid because she remembered the last time she fell in love with someone. Not to say it didn't end well, but last time she felt love, it didn't work out. But this time it was different. She felt that she could open up to him and that he cared for her as much as she did him. She promised to herself, before she fell asleep, that she would make it up to Jellal tomorrow.

* * *

 **A/N** **: This is my first time writing an AU story, and making Fairy Tail a completely different atmosphere is still pretty new to me. Also Grayza will forever be my OTP (hey, that rhymes) and the main two things about it is that there is 1. Not enough Grayza love out there and 2. A pairing that is SO underrated. Ranting aside, this story will also have Nalu, Jerza, and Gruvia.**

 **Huge shoutout to my beta reader,** _ **Relient City**_ **for all of her help and feedback in the creation of this story! This chapter wouldn't even be half as good without her proof-reading it!**


	2. Isn't that the sweetest thing?

**Chapter 2: Isn't that the sweetest thing?**

* * *

 _He wouldn't leave me alone, and at first, it was annoying. I would call him a stalker, a pervert, many things, but he never gave up. Eventually we became great friends. It began when he saw me by myself at the riverside near my home. He would always find me there when I was feeling sad, and somehow he always came to save the day. In a world of inconsistency he was my constant. We were best friends, and he was the first person that I felt comfortable enough to be myself. With him I felt like I could take on the world._

 _His name was Gray Fullbuster._

* * *

 ***Two months earlier***

"Gray, I just don't know what to do! Should I ask him out first, or wait for him to make the first move?" Erza was sitting on her bed in her usual Heart Kruez pajamas and was questioning her best friend for advice.

Gray really didn't want to talk about the bluenette that he despised. He recently found out that Erza had a crush on him for some time now. To be completely honest, Gray didn't trust Jellal. His gut instinct told him there was more to him than how he appeared. There was no way someone could be that smart, athletic, and handsome,without there being some sort of flaw. Jellal was a golden boy, and Gray knew 95% of the time golden boys were nothing but trouble. It ticked Gray off that somehow a part of him always felt inferior whenever he thought of _him_.

Gray's secret was plain and simple, he was jealous. The only person who knew how he really felt about Jellal was Natsu, and it wasn't really by choice. Somehow that little punk caught wind and he questioned Gray about it so much until he finally threw his hands in the air and told Natsu the gosh damn truth.

"Gray? Gray!" Erza was waving her arm trying to get a response out of the lost in thought boy.

"Huh? What? Yeah that's a great idea…" Gray nervously agreed to whatever she said, not actually knowing but hoping that his response would satisfy her. He definitely was

guilty of tuning out Erza whenever he was worried or annoyed about something he deemed major.

"I asked you a question Gray. Would you stop playing around? This is serious! You know all about relationships so what do you think I should do?" Erza knew she could talk to Gray about anything, and since she was sort of new to the whole relationship thing, she wanted to get Gray's advice because he had been in one before.

"Well, if you want my honest opinion, I think that you shouldn't go after him. He seems a little too good to be true, if you ask me." Gray said with a hint of annoyance.

"Oh, come on! You don't even know him!" Erza cried. A gleam caught in her eye as a sudden thought entered her head. She smirked at him saying, "You're a little jealous I see. Is it because he's smarter and more athletic than you? Forget about your petty differences and just help a girl out." Gray looked down at the ground in front of where he sat and groaned. Erza got off of her bed and sat down on the floor in front of Gray. She looked up at him, and he was a little surprised by how close she was. "C'mon, Gray, for me? For your best friend?"

Gray couldn't help but notice how cute she looked. It was like she was practically begging him for help. How could he possibly say no to her now? Plus she played the 'best friend card,' she really knew how to get her way. Not believing what was about to come out of his mouth he said, "Fine. I'll help you." Gray crossed his arms and looked to the side, his face flushed.

Erza stood up, happy with the response. "Thank you Gray! I knew you'd come through!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now listen, because I'm only going to say this once." The redhead took out a notepad and pencil, ready to write the moment he opened his mouth.

"Are you really taking notes on this?" Gray shook his head, he was reminded daily of how Erza was such a weirdo.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I?" Erza looked at Gray, confused as to why he would ask such a question.

Gray knew how oblivious she could be at times, so he just let her be and continued. "Well, girls don't usually make the first move, but since you like to be so assertive, I guess you could."

He looked at Erza as she wrote things down, thinking about what else to tell her. "Also, you're going to want to get to know him better, find out what he likes to do. Go places together, have fun. Keep it simple. But above all else, before getting in a relationship with him, be completely sure that he is _the one._ " Gray clenched his teeth after saying the last sentence, and he put emphasis on it too, wanting the last part to stick. He slightly regretted telling her love advice, after all, he hated the guy, and loved Erza.

Just thinking about what could develop between his best friend and Jellal ruined his mood. Gray proceeded to stand up and put his homework and laptop into his bag.

"Where are you going Gray? It's only 6. We still need to study for physics." Erza questioned, unsure as to why he would need to leave all of a sudden.

"I'm just gonna go back to my house. I'm not feeling that well. See you tomorrow, Erza." Gray grabbed his backpack and went out the door.

Erza sat on her bed, thinking. _What that was all about? Gray never leaves abruptly unless he's really upset about something._ She narrowed her eyes at the door Gray just left through _. Mr. Gray Fullbuster, you should know that I know you better than that. Why do you have to hide something from me?_

* * *

Gray left the Fairy Hills apartment complex and began to walk back to his small house. He usually used his motorcycle to get around, but Erza told him that he was going to get fat if he didn't get some kind of exercise.

He exited abruptly because he quite honestly needed to blow off some steam. _Dammit!_ Gray kicked a rock on the sidewalk as hard as he could. _Why does Jellal have to be so flawless! There has to be something wrong about him that I'm missing. Being best friends with Erza doesn't make anything easier. If only I could find a way to tell her how I feel without making things awkward. There's no way in hell that she feels the same as I. It's the age-old tale of me telling her the truth and ruining our friendship. Why does this have to be so hard?_

Gray had only made it halfway to his house when he started to feel droplets of water land on his shoulders. _Rain? Are you kidding me? Could this day get any worse?_ The rain began to fall more frequently, until it became a steady shower. Gray was now jogging to get to his house to try and avoid as much of the rain as possible.

The rain suddenly stopped above his head as a sky blue umbrella came over it. Gray looked behind him to see Juvia holding an umbrella up for him. "Oh, hey Juvia. Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome Gray, what are you doing out here in the rain?" Juvia had become much more mature as she came into college. She no longer chased, stalked, or obsessed over him. She learned to move on after Gray confronted Juvia and told her that he wasn't in love with her. She cried, she hurt- but slowly in time she was able to step back and see the feeling she called love was really only a simple crush.

"Well, I was just coming back from Erza's house. What about you?" Gray slowed down to a walk as he was now able to make his way home dry.

"I was just getting some groceries." Juvia paused, and noticing the silence from Gray she began, "You love her, don't you?"

Gray was surprised by her question, but remained calm "You know the answer to that".

"Yes, I do. So since we know it, why haven't you done anything? It has been over 10 yea-"

"I _know_ how long it's been." Gray cut her off, and looked down at the ground, hating being reminded of how long ago it was when he realized he fell in love with Erza. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

The two college students slowly made their way as the rain beat down, creating massive puddles in their path. At his front door Gray broke the comfortable silence and half-smiled, "Thanks again, Juvia. If it weren't for you my clothes and bag would be soaked." He opened up the door, "You want to come in for a bit? It's the least I could do."

"No thanks Gray. I need to get home myself. You take care." Juvia started to walk away, then turned back to look Gray straight in the eyes, "And don't wait too long. She won't be single _forever_." The blue haired woman walked the other direction, holding her umbrella in one hand, and her shopping bag in the other.

 _She's right._ Gray thought to himself. _If I don't do something now, she could be gone before I know it. Alright, you can do this, you've known Erza practically your whole life, how hard could confessing to her possibly be?_

Gray looked at himself in the mirror, and to his dismay he saw a face worn down from worry and lack of sleep. The college boy then resolved to make things right and kick Jellal right out of the ballpark.

 _I'll show you that I'm the right one for her. In fact I'm gonna march right over to Erza's and tell her._

As soon as Gray took a step toward the door he could feel his body groaning, telling him to go to sleep before he a) tripped on something or b) accidentally confess his love for tacos and not her.

Laughing and slightly horrified at hislast thought Gray slowly made his way to bed. _Tomorrow everything will be as it should._

* * *

 ***The next morning, 10:00***

The alarm clock on Gray's phone continued to beep. He sat up on his couch and rubbed his eyes while proceeding to turn off his noisemaker and check his phone all in a minute. He's had this down since junior high.

 _ **(3) New Messages - Erza**_

Gray quickly pressed the screen to open up the texts.

 _ **Erza: Hey Gray. Meet me at the Magnolia Cafe. I have some exciting news to tell you!**_

 **9:30 a.m.**

 _ **Erza: Be there in about 30 minutes.**_

 **9:33 a.m.**

 _ **Erza: where are you? it's already 10 DONT make me wait any longer**_

 **10:01 a.m.**

"Ah crap, the one time I regret sleeping in. Better get there fast before Erza gets mad at me," Gray muttered to himself as he threw on a jacket, combed his hair back with his hands, and grabbed his keys.

Gray hopped onto his motorcycle and drove to the cafe that he should have already been at. The entire way to the coffee shop his mind was cycling through all the possible ways to tell Erza that he loves her. _Hey, Erza. So we have been best friends for a while, and I actually have been in love with you the whole time. No, that sounds too corny… Agh! I'll just wing it! No you idiot! Remember when you tried to wing it that one time when you tried to climb that tree to impress Erza?_ He grimaced just at the thought, remembering the huge multi-colored bruise that lingered on his torso for months.

Gray parked his motorcycle and walked into the small shop. He caught sight of his favorite color in the corner of his eye and turned to his left to see his best friend sitting down at a table, enjoying a thick slice of strawberry cake.

Noticing a figure come closer, Erza turned to see Gray pulling up a chair and sitting to face her. "Well, took you long enough," Erza joked.

"Sorry about that, I woke up late. You know, studying all night."

"Is that so? That new game system you bought had nothing to do with it?" Erza asked, knowing what the answer was, but seeing what Gray would say.

"Well, it may or may not have affected what time I went to bed." Gray pretended. He thought he would go straight to bed last night but somehow he always managed to fit video game in his schedule.

"Gray, what have I told you, school always comes first. Games are only for after you have finished your work."

"Is that all mom?" Gray said as he rolled his eyes, earning him a punch in the shoulder.

"Bedtime is at 9," Erza played along, laughing in the process.

Gray couldn't help but smile when he saw her laugh, he loved to see her happy. Erza sighed and suddenly sat up, alert. "Oh! I almost completely forgot about what I wanted to tell you! It's exciting news!"

"Well, there is something that I would like to tell you too, Erza" Gray responded.

"It can wait! I just have to tell you! Wait for it… Jellal asked me out! Isn't that exciting? I said yes to him, of course. He showed up at my doorstep with roses in hand a couple hours after you left yesterday." Erza smiled with excitement. "Isn't that just the sweetest thing?"

Gray forced himself to look unaffected by the news. He silently cursed, knowing he should've gone back. Maybe he would've been able to get to her first, or at the very least punch the guy in the nose for even considering asking Erza to go on a date. Nonetheless, he faked a smile in order to. it hurt her feelings and agreed. "Yeah, that's so cute Erza".

 _Ughh did I really just say that? The only problem being best friends with a girl, and she only thinks of you only in a platonic way is that she treats you like a girl sometimes._

"I know right? So, enough about me, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

Trying to come up with something, Gray just made something up super lame, spontaneity was Natsu's thing, not his. Gray liked to think of himself as a chill, laid back sort of dude. "Oh, I uh, got a new engine on my bike".

"Ah, come on Gray, you know I don't care about stupid cars and stuff." Erza checked her phone, "Oh! It's almost 11, Jellal said he would meet me at his place then, I gotta go. Bye Gray! See you at school tomorrow!" Erza grabbed her stuff, took one last bite out of her cake, and was out the door.

Gray just sat there and looked into his coffee mug glumly. Normally Erza wouldn't sound so indifferent, even if what he said was lame. Usually she'd at least say 'that's cool'. He tried not to take it personally, after all she was a little distracted today, but how could he not take it personally? He had a sinking feeling his heart was going to be a little more than bruised if things kept going the way they were headed.

* * *

 **A/N:** **So this was a little insight to how Erza got with Jellal in the first place, and other little background material. Also, the little parts at the beginning of each chapter is a little insight between Gray and Erza's inner feelings. Gray's are odd numbered chapters, Erza's are even numbered chapters.**

 **Thank you to all of my reviewers! I love getting them! Also if you're a bit confused about the order of events, don't hesitate to scan through chapter 1. It makes sense, I promise! :)**

 **Also thank** _ **Relient City**_ **for beta-reading this story! Check out her story, if you like this one, then you will definitely like hers.**


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